The revolution is ours to make. It is our greatest duty. It is our greatest joy.

-Nellie Wong

As the inequality and unsustainability of capitalism become ever more apparent, working class women are mobilizing—to expose and oppose our exploitation; to support our families and communities through these turbulent times; to reclaim our proud history of resistance; and to look forward to a future where we can reach our full potential and our genuine liberation.

For nearly 100 years, March 8th International Women’s Day, has been an occasion for women around the world to come together, to take to the streets, to raise our voices, to remember our history and to forge our future. Here in Vancouver, Grassroots Women has carried on this tradition for the past 13 years, and we invite all women, children and men to join us at this year’s event.

Join Grassroots Women as we take to the streets to mark this important day in the resistance of working class women around the world. Our 14th annual mobilization will advance the rich tradition of resistance on this day.

The Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF) denies the statement of the 5th ID and NOLCOM regarding the alleged capture of a training camp in Kili, Tubo and an arms cache in Buneg, Lacub in Abra.

503rd Brigade Commander Col. Essel Soriano and 50th IB commanding officer Lt. Col. Rogelio Migote cover up their losses in the battlefield by concocting stories these so-called victories as well as distortions on the use of anti-personnel mines by the NPA. This was parroted by Capt. Adonis Bañez, 501st Bde spokesman and propagandist, as well as the Nolcom in national newspapers and government radio.

In truth, the alleged NPA camp was long abandoned, as there are no permanent camps for the mobile guerilla movement at the present stage of the armed struggle. It is not really a surprise if they overrun a lot more alleged camp as there a lot more abandoned temporary camps. The NPA also does not keep extra weapons as there is increasing number of Red fighters joining the revolution. You can find firearms caches in Maguindanao and other areas where warlords and private armies are coddled and equipped by the Arroyo regime and the AFP.

As for the oft-repeated issue of land mines, we quote and reiterate the position put out by the Medardo Arce Command of Southern Mindanao in July 2008 regarding the Mine Ban Convention/Ottawa Treaty, to wit:

“The New People’s Army only uses command-detonated explosives against the intruding forces of the AFP/PNP. Command-detonated explosives are anti-personnel and anti-tank mines that fundamentally differ from mines that are designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person which are specifically covered by the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and Their Destruction. Unlike “pressure-detonated” or “victim-detonated” mines, the command-detonated mines used by the NPA against the AFP/PNP only explode when switched by the detonating officer of an NPA unit upon the order of the commanding officer. Unless detonated upon command, these mines do not explode on the mere application of pressure on the mine or, as described by the Ottawa Treaty, “from unintentional or innocent act.” Thus, mere contact of AFP/PNP troops or their combat vehicles will not trigger an explosion...”

The military propagandists expose their ignorance when they charge the NPA of violating “international humanitarian law” with regards the use of improvised explosive devices. On the other hand, it is sheer hypocrisy when the military indiscriminately uses mortars, howitzers, rockets, and bombs during the last twoweeks against unseen targets in the provinces of Kalinga, Abra and Mountain Province after the Red fighters successfully outmaneuvered the attacking massive troops of the 5th ID. The command detonated explosives used by the NPA pale in comparison with the bombs, artillery and mortar shells used by the AFP. Why is the AFP mum about the US Armed Forces supplying the AFP with war materials including banned anti-personnelmines?

In fact, it is the US that refused to ratify the Ottawa treaty against anti-personnel land mines (APLM), in opposition to the 158 nation-signatories. According to the Land Mine Monitor Report,

“The United States has not produced antipersonnel mines since 1996, and has a formal cap on its AP mine inventory, but has refused to announce a moratorium or ban and explicitly retains the right to produce at any time in the future...

“The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking to produce a new mine system called RADAM that combines into a single canister existing antipersonnel mines and antitank mines; such a system would be prohibited under the Mine Ban Treaty...

“The United States has antipersonnel landmines stored in at least five nations that are States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty (Germany, Japan, Norway, Qatar, and United Kingdom at Diego Garcia), as well as treaty signatory Greece. The U.S. has engaged in discussions with these nations in an effort to convince them that it is permissible under the treaty to allow U.S. mines to stay...

“On a related issue, the United States has also discussed with a number of treaty States Parties the permissibility of the U.S. transiting mines through their territory. A debate has emerged over whether the treaty’s prohibition on “transfer” of AP mines also applies to “transit,” with some States Parties maintaining that it does not. This would mean that U.S. (or other) aircraft, ships or vehicles carryingantipersonnel mines could pass through (and presumably depart from, refuel in, restock in) a State Party on their way to a conflict in which those mines would be used...”

The US also has some 11 million anti-personal mines stored in arsenals, the fourth largest in the world. As the Balikatan exercises became a convenient excuse to dispose off their war surpluses, and the GRP being the 4th largest beneficiary of US military acquisition, it is inevitable that the AFP become a recipient of some of these mines.

The CPDF quotes and reiterates the position of the National Democratic Front (NDF) regarding land mines:

“Anti-personnel mines covered by the anti-mine ban are not such significant offensive or defensive weapons of NPA units. Command-detonated mines, the type we use, are not covered by the ban. They prove to be valuable in preventing armored intrusions and attacks of enemy forces into NPA territories. Since we have no anti-armor weapons, we have to rely on such if we have to stop armored tanks andvehicles from entering or going through NPA territories. Most of the time, we can do with just the use of rifles and grenades. But these have no effective stopping power against armored tanks and vehicles.

“The defensive needs of threatened peasant communities are a different question though. In the first place, they should not be subjected to force mass evacuations, population control, food blockades, illegal arrests, arson, etc. Pushed to the wall, they are left with no choice but to use whatever weapon they can lay their hands on to resist the assaults of an oppressive force armed to the teeth with modern weapons.”

The CPDF needs to correct the false impression created by Lt. Col Migote that the “the presence of the huge NPA camp may have been the reason why NPAs laid improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along the pathways to delay the advance of government troops pursuing them, reason why a number of soldiers became victims of improvised land mines laid along the rebels’ withdrawal routes.” Aside from the fact that the so-called camps are actually temporary shelters long abandoned by the NPA, the NDF answer to the questionnaire on land mines points out that:

“No part of our guerrilla base and zones can be considered ‘mined areas.’ Our guerrilla warfare is exceedingly fluid. We rely mainly on the support and mobilization of the masses and on flexible guerrilla tactics to defeat the enemy and defend ourselves. We need as much open area as possible for the maneuver of our guerrilla units. The rural masses also need as much free space as possible for their livelihood and other daily activities.”

The CPDF calls on the Cordillera masses to reject and frustrate the propaganda offensive of the military as it is an adjunct of its political maneuvers to justify the increasing militarization of the region as they make desperate moves to comply with the doomed pipedream to reduce the New People’s Army and the revolutionary movement to an inconsequential level before their fake commander-in-chief leaves Malacañang this June 2010. Rebolusyon kayet!

The capture of an NPA camp in Tubo, Abra and the discovery of an alleged arms cache in Buneg, Lacub trumpeted by 503rd Bde commander Col. Essel Soriano and 50th IB commanding officer Lt. Col. Rogelio Migote are fabrications. The 503rd Bde is desperate to save face after heavy casualties were inflicted upon its units by successive tactical offensives of the Agustin Begnalen Command. The NPA camp was abandoned. In fact, there are no permanent NPA camps. And if ever an NPA camp is captured, another camp is quickly established in the wide forested areas of the countryside. The NPAs guerilla tactics and mastery of terrain and coupled with the people’s support continue to protect the Red fighters from enemy encirclement.

There is no truth to the news that the 41st IB captured an NPA arms cache in Buneg, Lacub. This is a fabrication by officers of the 41st IB so that they could report even a small accomplishment after suffering more than a platoon of casualties in skirmishes with ABC units in Malibcong.

True victory is not measured by the number of casualties, captured equipment, or encircled camps. The true measure of victory is whether it serves the oppressed masses or the interests of foreign mining companies, the corrupt Arroyo regime, US imperialism, and the ruling classes.

We condole with the families of the 29 soldiers slain and 35 wounded in six clashes with the New People’s Army from January 27 to February 4, just as we would mourn had any of our Red fighters fallen. There will be more casualties if the ongoing massive military operations will not end. Ordinary soldiers are thrust into doomed operations while their generals are enriching themselves thru corruption and as protectors of the illegal drug trade.

Most, if not all, of the AFP casualties probably came from poor peasant and working class families just like the NPA fighters. The main difference is that the rank and file troops unleashed by the 5th ID serve the exploiting classes of big landlords, corrupt bureaucrats and their imperialist masters, while the NPA fights for the emancipation of the poor from the shackles of poverty, oppression and exploitation, and for the defense of land, life, livelihood and resources.

The Cordillera People’s Democratic Front thus calls on the rank and file soldiers as well as junior officers of the 5th ID to defy the orders of their superiors in this doomed military operation. The current military maneuvers have no purpose other than to prepare the region for the arrival of the US troops for the Balikatan joint exercise starting this month and provide security for the subsequent entry of large mining companies.

In particular, we call on the rank and file soldiers to defy orders from their immediate superiors who command them to conduct military operations against the NPA. They can file their leave of absence based on any alibi just so as not to participate in the operation. They must not proceed to their target area butinstead stay in safer grounds until the operation is terminated. They can pass vital information to or inform any unit of the NPA of their plans so that the Red fighters can advice them where to pass safely. We advise junior officers not to lead their men in areas where they will surely be ambushed.

We encourage them to join the underground Lt. Crispin Tagamolila Movement or resign and find better and more honorable jobs if they are not ready yet to join the revolutionary movement so that together we hasten the overthrow of this corrupt, anti-people and despicable reactionary regime and build a better tomorrow.In the coming elections, you will surely be commanded to once again intercede and ensure the victory of the administration’s candidates, no different from what took place in the ARMM, particularly in Maguindanao, where your current commanding officer, BGen Rommel Gomez headed the 602nd Bde. As exposed by the cashiered Gen. Gudani, the AFP functions as Praetorian Guard and appendage of Malacañang to illegally perpetuate itself in power.

Finally, we call on Igorot military officers not to allow themselves to be used against the interest of their fellow national minorities. The transformation of the military as an “investment defense force” of large-scale mining companies that have appropriated 2/3 of the land area of the Cordillera is deplorable. Equallydetestable is the appropriation by soldiers of the 503rd Bde of a monthly tax of one sack of ore from every small scale mining tunnel in Lacub and Baay-Licuan, Abra. As sons of the mountains, we must all uphold the good aspects of indigenous tribal ways, and the sacredness of life and nature’s resources.

When the imperialist pillage of the Cordillera and the entire nation ends, then shall we enjoy the fruits of the mountains, forests, rivers and plains of this country. We will end our mourning and come out of our dap-ays to join in the feast of national liberation.

We are writing to condemn the action of the Armed Forces of thePhilippines and Philippine National Police at 6:15am February 6th,2010, when they forcibly detained medical doctors, nurses, andcommunity health workers (CHWs) in Rizal, Philippines during theirhealth skills training-seminar in the house of Dr. Melecia Velmonte.

Health workers who extend their volunteer services to under-servedregions are essential to the health and well-being of regularFilipinos who live in these areas. Their service and advocacy work forthe community is vital when virtually no other health infrastructureexists.

We condemn the false accusations against these health workers as being“enemies of the state” for advocating for communities living inpoverty and see this harassment as part of the ongoing list of humanrights violations against health workers and community-based healthpractitioners that serve the most impoverished regions in thePhilippines.

As health professionals, researchers, students, and concernedcommunity members, we join the call for the 2nd Infantry Division ofthe Philippine Army and the Rizal Philippine National Police toimmediately and unconditionally release the abducted health careworkers and stop the labeling, harassment and intimidation ofprogressive organizations and individuals engaged in grassroots healthwork and advocating for social justice in the Philippines.

We ask that the Philippine government ensure the safety of allvictims, that they are not harmed and that their belongings arereturned immediately to them. We call for an immediate formation of anindependent fact-finding and investigation team composed ofrepresentatives from human rights groups, the Church, localgovernment, and the Commission on Human Rights that will look intoraid and illegal arrest of the health workers.

As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and aparty to all the major Human Rights instruments, the PhilippineGovernment is bound to observe all human rights provisions

We ask that you please address this matter to the appropriateauthorities on our behalf.

Sincerely,

Martha Roberts, Registered Midwife, Vancouver, CanadaAzar Mehrabadi, PhD student, School of Population and Public Health,University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CanadaYuly Chan, Kinesiology student, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, CanadaDavid Henry, Alliance for People’s Health, Vancouver, CanadaJerry Spiegel, Associate Professor, School of Population and PublicHealth, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

The Communist Party of the Philippines today joined in the widespread condemnation of the government military forces’ raid of a grassroots medical training conference being held at a farmhouse in Morong, Rizal and the illegal arrest and torture of 43 doctor and nurse trainors and volunteer health trainees.

Lambasting the arrest as an attack against progressive medical professionals and volunteer grassroots health workers who have dedicated their knowledge and lives to providing health care to the people, the CPP demanded that the victims be immediately released and the raiders be made accountable for their brazen violation of the victims’ human rights.

The training was part of an initiative by the Council for Health and Development (CHD), a non-government organization that is dedicated to the cause of uplifting the health status of the poor, setting up of grassroots health programs and training volunteer grassroots health workers.

Last February 6, a battalion of soldiers from the Philippine Army's 202nd Infantry Brigade accompanied by the local police forcibly entered and raided the farmhouse where the training was being held.

The CPP cited reports that the raid was conducted with the full force of a military operation, using four 6 x 6 military trucks, two Armored Personnel Carriers and other vehicles with no plate numbers or whose plates were either covered by tape or smeared with mud.

"To justify the raid," said the CPP, "the raiders brought with them a fake search warrant to look for a certain 'Mario Conde' who is unknown to the household and community. They also brought with them grenades, firearms and the like which they planted at the scene to justify the fabrication of charges that the arrested health workers were training to make bombs."

The 43 health workers are currently detained at Camp Capinpin, headquarters of the 202nd IBde. According to their lawyers, colleagues and relatives, the arrested health personnel were handcuffed, blindfolded and tortured for more than 36 hours and were denied adequate food and bathroom privileges.

"The arrest, detention and torture of the 43 health workers is an outright violation of human rights," said the CPP. "It was carried out in outright contempt of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) which the Philippine government signed with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in 1998."

"It is utterly deplorable that this blanket arrest targeted progressive health professionals and volunteer community health workers who have been attending to the health care needs of the people, especially the impoverished who have long been suffering from the lack of health services due to the ruling regimes' criminal neglect," said the CPP.

Wellington Kiwi Pinoy, a group of New Zealanders supporting campaignsagainst human rights abuses in the Philippines, denounces in strongestterms the abduction of 43 doctors and community health workers byaround 300 soldiers and police in Morong, Rizal. On 6th February, thevictims were robbed of their personal belongings, blindfolded, andforcibly brought to Camp Capinpin, headquarters of the 202nd InfantryBrigade, AFP.

This shameless attack on medical personnel who were gathered intraining in the house of Dr. Melecia Velmonte again exposes the wantondisregard of civil liberties by military and police forces. Dr.Velmonte, a renowned infectious disease specialist, and her colleaguesdeserve the greatest respect for serving the poor communities ofMorong, Rizal in the face of government failure to deliver the mostbasic health services for the poor. Wellington Kiwi Pinoy joins thefamilies and colleagues of the victims in demanding their freedom. Welikewise support the call to end militarization in the communities ofRizal and other provinces where similar cases of military abuses havebeen committed against civilians.

After the brutal massacre of scores of journalists, lawyers and othercivilians in Maguindanao, the Morong incident adds to the long list oflarge-scale human rights violations under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyoadministration. Itâ€™s not surprising that the heads of the raidingteam, Colonel Aurelio Baladad and Police Superintendent Balonglong,based the raid and abduction on phoney â€œintelligence reportsâ€ thatthe medical personnel were members of the New Peopleâ€™s Army (NPA).How many more brutal killings, torture and detention of ordinarypeasants, laborers, journalists, clergy, doctors and others will bejustified by the governmentâ€™s counter-insurgency campaign?

It is deplorable that the Philippine government continues to enjoymillions of dollars in foreign aid from the US, Australia and even NewZealand for its corrupt military and police forces. The Morongincident is yet another compelling reason for New Zealanders to joinconcerned groups around the globe in supporting the Filipinopeopleâ€™s demands for government to use taxpayersâ€™ money to improveaccess to healthcare, housing and education rather than fundescalating militarization and political persecution.

The Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) today condemns in the strongest possible terms the violation by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of the rights under International Humanitarian Law of Comrade Elizalde (Ka Jinngoy) Canete as a wounded hors de combat.

Ka Jinggoy was captured after an armed encounter with troops of the 10th Infantry Division (ID) of the Philippine Army (PA) under Major General Carlos Holganza in Barangay Sarmiento, Laak, Compostela Valley. He was suffering from several gunshot wounds when he was captured on 30 January 2010.

He was first brought to Camp Panacan Naval Hospital before being sent for surgery on 31 January to the Davao Medical Center (DMC), where he was placed under heavy military guard. Three days later, despite the freshness of his surgical wounds, Ka Jinggoy was forcibly transferred back to Camp Panacan Naval Hospital from the DMC without court order and against the advice of his attending surgeon. The protests of his mother and sister were disregarded by the military.

His mother and sister have been worried about his condition at the AFP military hospital since his transfer. Ka Jinggoy has been suffering chills due to high fever. His stomach has also become bloated and his body pale and yellowish. He has been having shortness of breath and has been frequently requesting for oxygen.

The forcible transfer of Ka Jinggoy against the advice of his attending surgeon and the utter disregard by the AFP military for his physical integrity are gross violations of his rights under International Humanitarian Law. The AFP military are trampling on the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

It should be remembered that last 28 November 2009, the father of Ka Jinggoy was murdered by persons believed to be agents of the 7th Special Forces of the 25th Infantry Battalion under the 10th ID. Ka Jinggoy’s father was last seen talking with these persons before he was discovered dead with multiple gunshot wounds the following morning.

The NDFP Human Rights Committee has informed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the situation of Comrade Canete.

We shall hold the regime of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo responsible for whatever further harm Ka Jinggoy may suffer in the hands of the AFP. The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has become notorious for its utter disregard for and outright violations of International Humanitarian Law in the ongoing armed conflict between the GRP and the NDFP.

The NDFP-Rizal strongly condemns the illegal arrest of the 43 health workers by the combined elements of AFP 2nd Infantry Division and the PNP-Rizal yesterday morning in Morong, Rizal. Their arrest is a gross violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that specifically provides that medical and health workers are non-combatants that must not be targeted by any military action.

The arrested health workers were undergoing medical training. They are not committing any criminal acts. There is no justifiable reasons for them to be arrested They were not armed as the AFP-PNP wants the public to believe. All the firearms and explosives that the military declared they confiscated from the health workers were planted. The evidence being used by the military to justify the continued detention of the 43 health workers are fabricated. The only equipments that the military got were medical instruments.

The arrest and detention of the health workers is one of the foulest tactics of the PNP-AFP to cover-up for the combat defeats they are suffering in the hands of the armed revolutionary movements. The loses the AFP-PNP suffered in the battlefields last year and early this year creates a demoralizing effects on their troops and serves as a clear gauge that they are not winning their war against the revolutionary movement. To cover-up for this, they are arresting civilians and members of the legal progressive movements which they are misrepresenting as NPA combatants and charging them with fabricated crimes. These acts must be condemned and perpetrators must be held liable.